


i’m going to make this place your home

by flyonmylove



Category: Persona 3
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-05 19:46:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17925188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flyonmylove/pseuds/flyonmylove
Summary: Settle down, it'll all be clearDon't pay no mind to the demonsThey fill you with fearThe trouble it might drag you downIf you get lost, you can always be found





	i’m going to make this place your home

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday xoe!!!!!!!!! i've never written akihiko OR mitsuru before! so this is probably bad! but i wanted to write a little something for my best friend!! hopefully it was enjoyable for everyone else too!!

There’s a stillness Akihiko can’t put his finger on when he wakes. Eyes still heavy with sleep, but he peels them open anyway, the golden rays filtering in through sheer curtains overriding the temptation to roll over and catch just a few more hours. When he blinks through the haziness, he remembers where he is, the lightness of rose and a fabric softener on the sheets too expensive smelling to be his own a reminder as he yawns, the slight prickle of tears as he clutches sheets too nice to even be slept on to hoist himself up.

 

He rubs his hands over his face, letting his eyes scan over the room. Flowers and pastels and frills, so feminine and clean. If he were any younger this would feel more foreign, like he shouldn’t belong here, but it’s been years since he’s been in this room, in this atmosphere and each time it feels a bit more like home. His eyes land on a few photos, formally hung and delicately framed, perfect in every way. It’s memories he’d like to forget sometimes, on the bad days, but he’s learned long to accept them, the strength they’ve brought him.

 

Akihiko manages to stop reminiscing, tearing his eyes away before finally standing, stretching his arms out above his head, pulling them to each side of his body. He always forgets how simultaneously rested and exhausted he can feel here, a bed too comfortable for its own good, he always forgets what it’s like to sleep peacefully through the night until he stumbles his way back here. It’s a luxury too sweet and addicting, and he thinks it’s one he could  _ easily _ get used to even if he isn’t one to be spoiled as he makes his way towards the smell of coffee.

 

The house is so intricate he finds new details with every new stay, a new curve in the staircase, a new color in the painting hung amongst the walls, a carving of text in a golden table holding a vase he’s not sure was here the last time he walked these halls, another new addition. It’s fun, in a way, it makes him feel like a kid again in a shop he could never afford, looking for things that maybe he could buy his sister one day, when they were older and stable and happy. It’s childish, and tugs on his chest to think back on, but it’s a familiar feeling here, the back and forth of emotions he’ll never be able to quite put words to or explain unless during the late hours of the night, coaxed out under the dark for nobody else to hear but them.

 

The figure he was anticipating has her back turned, locks of ruby spiraling down her back over a silk robe. He smiles, discreetly padding behind her as quietly as he can to end up behind her, resting his chin in the crook of her neck. To anyone else it might be unusual that someone of her social status would be here so casually like this, making her own coffee, but she enjoys the simplicity of it, far from the hectic days of running what Akihiko feels is the world sometimes.

 

“I don’t like surprises.” 

 

It’s not much of a complaint, the corners of her mouth twisting up at the press of his arms around her middle. 

 

“I know.”

 

“Need something to wake you up? I made extra.” 

 

“Sure,” Akihiko mumbles, pressing the most subtle kiss he can manage to the crook of her neck and shoulder before stepping back, instead settling his weight on the counter next to them.

 

“Sleep well?” Mitsuru grabs for a mug, cutting her eyes at him, as if to make sure he still knew she was talking to him.

 

“Too well. That thing feels like sleeping on a cloud.”

 

“You’re just not used to it. That style of mattress you own is the same kind as our dorms back in the dorms. Sturdy and durable, although not the most known for its... _ comfort _ .”

 

“It gets the job done.”

 

A small laughter makes its way out of her, reaching to pour the dark liquid, although Akihiko thinks its more steam than anything.

 

“That it does. But better rest makes for a better officer, doesn’t it? More alert?”

 

“True…” He accepts is gingerly, black and bitter as he takes a sip. “Guess I’ll just have to save up for one of yours.”

 

“Or…”

 

“Or?”

 

Mitsuru leans her own back against the counter, reaching for her own mug again. She’s contemplating her words, carefully. If he looked too into it he might even guess she was  _ nervous _ , uncharacteristic for someone like  _ Mitsuru Kirijo _ , but a side of him he was glad he got to enjoy, even if it was fleeting.

 

“You could move in.”

 

“Here?”

 

“Well...yes.” She cocks an eyebrow at him as if to say  _ where else _ ? “Akihiko…” she starts, taking a sip of her drink before sitting it behind her again, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “We’ve known each other for...quite some time, yes?”

 

“Well, yeah.”

 

“And we’ve been  _ together _ for a while, haven’t we?”

  
She makes it sound like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

 

“We...have.”

 

“It only seems like the next step, doesn’t it? We know each other’s schedules, and you’re here most of the week anyway. There’s more room here than  _ your _ apartment, it’s only fitting.”

 

Well, when she lays it out like that…

 

“You’ve been thinking about this?”

 

“A bit.”

 

She makes it sound so logical, like there’s no other alternative, and doesn’t have to do with any kind of feelings whatsoever. It’s more tempting he supposes that way, less room to argue as if he had any reason to in the first place. 

 

“Okay.”

 

“Okay?” Mitsuru almost sounds...surprised.

 

“Okay. I’ll move in. Won’t be much, though...think I mostly just have some clothes…”

 

“Well, you’re the only requirement to doing so. There’s easily a place for you here.”

 

It almost feels like a meaning hidden deeper in such simple words, but he’s content with taking them as they are. He places his cup down, half empty as he makes his way toward her, carefully shoving his fingers in her long tendrils as he presses his lips to hers, practically a ghost of contact. They both smell and taste of coffee as he keeps close, twisting her strands in his fingers.

 

“What was that for?”

 

“A thank you, I guess.” 

Mitsuru’s face twists into confusion before he chuckles.

 

“For...letting me in.”

 

“Well...you’re welcome.” 

 

He supposes any other couple would’ve exchanged ‘I love you’s’ at this point, but it didn’t feel like  _ them _ , not their style or way of communicating, instead opting for actions. Like this.

 

The sharp ring of a phone rings out and interrupts them, Mitsuru casting a sigh before glancing at the clock behind her, her hand sliding upwards to rest atop Akihiko’s.

 

“We have to get going.” 

 

“We sure do.” 

 

He brings her face forward, a lingering kiss at the crown of her head before pulling away entirely. 

 

“I have to get my uniform and things from the apartment, so I might be a little late.” 

 

Mitsuru grins, subtle as always before finishing the last of her coffee.

 

“It’s not a problem. I can have some dinner made for when you get back.”

 

“Sure.” Akihiko starts towards the bedroom to get dressed before catching himself on the wall, looking behind his shoulder towards her. “I’ll see you when I get home.”

 

“...I’ll see you then. Get home...safely.”

 

“Of course.”

 

Akihiko turns again, finally making his way upstairs, a new spring in his step, almost. There’s an excitement he can’t properly place, perhaps from a new step in their relationship, or the idea that Mitsuru wants him closer, or the fact that for once he has a  _ home _ and some place to call such. It’s not the dorms of his school or an orphanage or an apartment only available on a rookie cop’s salary with walls too thin and barely big enough to put more than a bed and a TV. It’s got Mitsuru and his future, and things he never let himself think about much, but now that they’re here...well. 

 

It feels good to be home.


End file.
